I wish I could join you Popo, but it's even more expensive to get there from Wellington. Even more so now that they have added the Vulcan to the line up. I used to live near Farnborough and left the UK the year the Vulcan first appeared in public. I am relying on you for some great shots - no pressure, but I have high hopes of you

I got my ticket today. I'm no plane spotter so have no clue what's what, and it will be a case of "if it moves, shoot it" on the day. Still, if there's a timetable showing when the Vulcan is up, I can make an effort for it specifically.

Way I see it, having done birds (feathered) in flight, these metal ones shouldn't pose much of a problem.

I've got 30GB of CF cards and I shoot jpeg only. That'll give over 4000 shots with a complex image, possibly much more depending on how much plain sky I end up with. I could take a netbook too if I really need to dump a card to free up more space.

Weather allowing I'm thinking of taking the IR converted camera to see if that's a bit different. Plus I'll have my 3rd camera I'll probably end up using for the static displays, and the ultra compact as backup to backup. If that doesn't cover it, nothing will. I'm more concerned about the long walk people are telling me about... don't want to be overloaded in kit.

At the risk of a silly question, how loud is it there? I could borrow a pair of ear defenders from work if necessary, as I can't stand plugs. Where I live there's quite a lot of jets and hercs going overhead at times, so low I could poke their soft bellies with the assistance of a step ladder and a broom handle. They're not too bad for noise. The... double rotor helicopters are pretty damn noisy though, but you don't need ear defenders for them as much as all over body defenders. That low frequency noise just cuts through anything.

My vague plan is I'll drive there when I wake up. No idea how bad traffic is, but if roads are clear it should take me less than 30 minutes for that distance. Once inside I'm planning on hitting the static displays early, and then find a free space to rest on and see whatever flies until I get tiered and go home.

Popo you won't need eartecters, although loud for children, for adults it's not a problem. You won't see a better air show, the static display is as good as the flying. The aprons jammed with international jaw dropping aircraft.
One bit of advise, get there as early as you can it gets very busy. I slept in the car by the gates!
I'm so envious, hope you enjoy.
There are some big US tranports so don't get caught out with too long a lens, just passing on my experience

To start a nice wide angle. you can get close enough to need 10mm or above. This means you can get in front of other people who only have p+s or 18mm. If they have the B2 stealth 10mm is a must for the wingspan.
When you get to flying some fast jets are too fast. So go with 300mm but your fastest AF lens. As I said beware of low slow passes that are very close, even 70mm is too long. I don't need to tell you but if shooting jpeg go at least +1ev if the aircraft are in the air

After visiting RIAT a number of times over the years (inc. last year) what GCJ has said covers just about everything.
What I would repeat is"get there early"! It's a typical UK military airfield, accessed via country lanes that very soon grind to a halt/crawl with the mass of traffic trying to get in .
I'm not too far away in Somerset, but I try to leave by 06:00am (sad, innit) to beat the traffic. It worked well last year and virtually drove straight into a carpark, only to be met by a huge queue of people waiting to get in.....
On a good day (weather wise) you could spend all day watching the flying display (arrive early and get a spot on the crowd line fence) and still not get to see all of the ground displays before the airfield closes, and even with a 300mm lens, you soon find out that it's a big sky and that they're small aeroplanes!
Having said all that, remember to enjoy the day and the show, it's probably the best display this side of the pond.

PS watch out for "lens envy" as it certainly got to me with my tiny Sony DSC-H1

Ill be going for the 6year in a row. You will be spoilt for choice. When I go I just spend all day at the crowd line watching the displays - thats a full day in itself, let alone all the statics.

I really hope the weather is good like it was on Sat for Yeovilton.

As for lens envy it gets me every time, lol

I shoot with a 70-200 with a 1.7 TC giving me 340mm at the longest end and that's not enough for me. At Yeovilton I shot with my 400mm sigma prime which was better, the extra 60mm seemed to make a lot of difference. If the weather is gonna be good I might try my 170-500sigma although its a slow clunky lens which need good light for focus and get any usable shots from.

As my first trip, I'll probably do a bit of everything. My current plan is to get there somewhat early, be lucky if its much before 9 as never been a morning person. First I'll hit the static display before the flying start. I wont have time to finish it in one go, so I'll probably switch back and forwards between them a few times depending on what's expected to be up. Do they put up a flying schedule? If so, when and where? From past photos it looks like the middle of the runway area gets busy on crowd line, so would I be better off going off part way to each end if I'm just dipping in and out? I'm not the type to pick a spot and camp the whole day.

I hope the weather isn't like Sat, that was far too hot! My personal hope would be broken cloud so you get a good mix.

I suppose I need to decide how to pack... was going two camera bags + foods, but I don't want to carry 3 bags! If I leave one camera around my neck I can ditch one camera bag and swap it for a food and stuff bag.

I'm not too worried about lens envy, as I know to get much further than I am now involves serious cash I don't have

Even at small airshows like "Warbirds over Wanaka" here in New Zealand (used by Gordon for his tutorial on shooting at airshows), getting a clear view of the flight line is difficult for latecomers. Fast low shots, or shots of aircraft departing or arriving are spoiled if the spectators are six or seven deep in front of you. All you see are the backs of heads and other people's lenses.

In my experience in NZ and Australia, people get to the flightlines early and use various techniques to remain in possession of them all day. Go early